The National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care and Low Secure Units (NAPICU) is delighted to invite you to our 23rd Annual Conference at Holywell Park, Conference Centre, Loughborough University on Thursday 6th and Friday 7th September 2018.

The theme for this, our twenty third Annual Conference, will be:Quality improvement in Acute, Emergency and Forensic Mental Healthcare

Our theme of quality improvement is ensuring health care is safe, effective, patient-centred, timely, efficient and equitable. With the high level of national change and growing financial pressures, the challenge is retaining the patient at the centre of our focus and to ultimately improve quality outcomes for patients.

The conference will feature a wide-range of forums to enable clinicians to share knowledge and gain more insight into understanding patients and carers needs. We have compiled a diverse and comprehensive programme ranging from implementing outcomes of latest clinical guidelines, updates on new commissioning arrangements, to more scientifically rigorous quantitative and qualitative clinical studies, covering many aspects of care in in-patient psychiatric services.

To maximise the benefits of the conference for every delegate, we are running some parallel sessions. The Poster Session will continue to allowing submissions to be presented more thoroughly in an interactive session and there will be the judging session for the Quality Improvement of the Year Award. This year NAPICU and BAP have worked together on the production of the rapid tranquillisation guidelines and this will feature in our conference.

Finally, looking at the progress made and the changes the health services have undergone, it is a testament to the hard work, efforts and expertise of the clinical staff which has made all of the advances possible.

We would also encourage you as clinicians to join us at NAPICU and hear your opinions and views, the conference will provide opportunities for feedback and for networking with colleagues, nationally and internationally.